The remains of this vessel lie on a mud bank in Rhyl's Ford Harbour.

Event and Historical Information:
THE CITY OF OTTAWA was built as a three-masted vessel with square rigging in 1860 by built by Jean Elie Gingras. The ship was by named THE CITY OF OTTAWA to celebrate Queen Victoria's choice of a new Canadian capital just three years earlier. THE CITY OF OTTAWA traded to various English ports and Australia, Asia, South America, the United States of America and Canada. The ship was brought to Rhyl in 1906 after being damaged in a storm and was soon afterwards was abandoned as beyond economic repair. In January 2007, Denbighshire Council began a major regeneration programme for the waterfront at Rhyl including a new road constructed from in front of the May Quay public house to the former timber yard, repairs to the timber yard quay wall, the creation of a secure boat storage area with wash-down facilities and a new cycle route link. In May 2007, the Council requested the removal of four sunken vessels to facilitate dredging and the development of the marina. Subsequently an initiative has been launched to recover part of the vessel, possibly consisting of up to 200 tons of timber, for a display in the Quebec City Hall. In November 2007, Denbighshire Council began a feasibility study to assess the desirability of preserve all or part of the wreck. In February 2008, a news item revealed that £50,000 of European funding may have been withdrawn because of delays in developing a feasible plan for recovering part of the wreck.

Sources include:
Daily Post, 29 October 1992
Daily Post, 21 February 2008, pg 8
Receiver of Wreck Droits letter and printout June 2001 RCIM6/2/5/5

Local News items:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/6611359.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/7101697.stm

Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, December 2007.